1597
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of Frederick de Vries and His Dog is a 1597 by Hendrik Goltzius, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man in black stands beside a small white dog. His hand rests on the dog’s head. Behind them, a plain wall and a window with bars fill the background. The inscription calls this a gift to a painter in Venice. It says the dog shows faithfulness and the boy shows innocence. Goltzius painted this to represent his friend’s son. Try looking up chiaroscuro next.
The inscription in the center states: "I dedicate [this work] to the excellent painter Dirck de Vries in Venice out of friendship and to represent his absent son." The inscription in the bottom margin, written by the Dutch scholar Petrus Scriverius (or Peter Schrijver, 1576–1660), reads: "You may not understand what is contained in this work: Here is the meaning for you in a few words. Simplicity seeks and loves faithfulness. The faithful dog and the innocent boy, that Goltzius faithfully rendered with a Phidian hand in copper." Goltzius made this print for his friend the painter Dirck de…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Hendrick Goltzius (German: , Dutch: ; né Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter.
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